County fair history book marks 125th anniversary

Published March 1, 2013 at 2:41 pm

by Jim Boyle

Editor

The excitement for the Sherburne County Fair’s 125th anniversary celebration is building.

In addition to a button contest involving youth of Sherburne County and a search for the residents who have lived in the county the longest, there’s now a history book about the fair on sale.
The history of the Sherburne County Fair is chronicled in a new book.

The book is simply titled Sherburne County Fair History: 1889-2013. It was authored by Marion Salzmann, whose been involved in 4-H and/or the Sherburne County Fair since 1951.

“Our intent was to capture some of the history,” she said.

In her research for the book, Salzmann was amazed at what she uncovered. She also realized history tends to repeat itself.

“Elk River played such a critical role,” Salzmann said of the development of the year in the early years.

She came across names like Davis, Houlton, Nickerson, Dwyer, Dare, Larsen, Nystrom and the list goes on.

“It’s good to know where we came from,” said Irene Kostreba, a fellow Sherburne County Fair Board member with Salzmann.

The book is available in color for $30 and in black and white for $10. They are available on the Sherburne County Fair Website at www.sherburnecountyfair.org.

Copies of the book can also be purchased through Kostreba at 763-441-4457 or Salzmann at 763-441-3722.

Kostreba has also put out feelers to find the longest running residents of Sherburne County.

Meanwhile, kids in the area schools have been asked for their help in designed a button for the anniversary celebration. See sidebar story on that to the left of this column.